"Helping the Cause of A better America"

"Making a difference in the lives of others."

a phrase used by David M. Walker in his commencement address to our master's graduates last spring, took on new significance in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs September 11, 2001.

Like our collegues across the country we, too, hastily began nearly frantic mid-morning attempts that day to connect with our students, alumni, families, and friends in New York City and Washington, DC as the horror of unspeakable acts of terrorism unfolded before our eyes.

That day, the School of Public and Environmental Affairs had 28 Executive Education students in the Pentagon, two floors immediately above where the commercial jet tore the structure open. Miraculously, they were uninjured and fled the building only 30 minutes before their escape path collapsed.

We had other students in the city that day, all of whom were safe and accounted for by the end of the black Tuesday.

The kind of public leadership Mr. Walker describes herein deals with people "focused on maximizing their self-worth rather than their net worth," people who focus on the word "we" more than the word "me."

He also speaks of the nation's critical need for leadership in the public sector, public workers willing to "tackle the problems our nation faces today and those that are on the horizon."

When we first planned to publish Mr. Walker's address this Fall, we did so in full recognition that his call to exceptional quality in public service was pertinent and apt.

Today, just four weeks after our nation's tragedy of September 11, it is ever more so.

Astrid E. Merget, Dean
School of Public and Environmental Affairs
October 2001

Congratulations graduates of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. You have the enviable distinction of graduating from (1) the nation's highest ranked public affairs program at a public institution, (2) a school with a number-one rating in environmental policy and management, and (3) Indiana University's highest ranked graduate school. Who's going to argue with U.S. News & World Report? Not even the GAO will dispute these facts!

I also extend congratulations to Dr. Astrid Merget on her recent appointment as the third dean of SPEA during its 29-year history.

Dean Merget and I have a few things in common. We're both relatively new to our appointed positions, we both share a keen interest in public service, and we're both big fans of Teddy Roosevelt, or T.R., as he was known by many. As you may know, T.R. was an internationalist, environmentalist, and trustbuster. He is the only person who has won both the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Nobel Peace Prize—a real feat. T.R. was a real Renaissance man in his time.

In the late 1870s during a committee meeting of Roosevelt's fraternity, T.R. told his fraternity brothers: "I am going to try to help the cause of better government . . . but I don't know exactly how."

I hope some, if not most, of you feel a similar passion for public service. Our federal government is an important and impressive institution. It's the largest, most diverse, most complex, and the most important entity on earth.

How can you help the cause of a better America? How can you, one person, make a difference? Cynics are fond of saying one person can't make a difference, but they're wrong! Let me tell you a brief story about one public servant, an employee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who proved the cynics wrong. | next |

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The School of Public and Environmental Affairs . Indiana University
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